IF LOSING to the Pacers in five games of a second-round series last year wasn’t the main reason the Knicks decided they had to get younger, faster and more athletic, then at the very least it offered visual evidence of the need for change.

Every key rebound seemed to wind up in the hands of either Antonio or Dale Davis last year with Charles Oakley a half-step out of position or a half-step slow to a ball that might have made the series more competitive than it was. Despite how hard the old, warrior Oakley battled, he was outplayed by the Davis boys, who proved too young and too strong.

It was evident in that series that the Knicks couldn’t beat the Pacers in a half-court game: not with Mark Jackson posting up the Knicks guards, Reggie Miller gunning from the perimeter, Rik Smits offering a formidable inside presence and the Davis boys crashing the boards. The Pacers were too deep, too balanced for the Knicks. They swept the first two games at Market Square Arena, split at the Garden, then finished the series in Indy. Six weeks later: Oakley was traded for Marcus Camby. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

The Knicks claim Camby’s arrival and the subsequent additions of Kurt Thomas and Latrell Sprewell weren’t all about beating the Pacers, but the continuation of a philosophy that began when Allan Houston and Chris Childs were signed in 1996 and everyone was trying to beat the Bulls. Still, it’s the last loss of a season that haunts you and with the break-up of the Bulls, the Pacers have become the Knicks’ chief nemesis west of Miami.

The Knicks took a detour down Chaos Boulevard, but they have arrived where they planned to be all along, in the Eastern Conference finals opposite the team they expected to play. Now we’ll see if all the changes former general manager Ernie Grunfeld made before being demoted can get the Knicks past their heartland rivals and into the NBA Finals.

“It’s special, just being in the Eastern Conference finals,” Houston was saying yesterday after the Knicks went through a light workout at Purchase College. “You don’t get that many opportunities to be out there for something like that. So whoever it is [against] we’re going to go in and take advantage of it.”

The Knicks are hoping the transition game that exhausted the Heat and overwhelmed the Hawks can be a factor against the Pacers as well. That’s the main difference between the Knicks of last year and these new Knicks.

They have learned to hit the glass hard, get the ball out and watch Latrell Sprewell or Houston race to the other end and finish with a short-jumper, layup or dunk. The Knicks were indeed young and athletic against Atlanta, blowing past the Hawks like cars speeding past hitchhikers.

No one is silly enough to think points will come as easy against the Pacers. Indianapolis first has to miss before the Knicks can get the rebound and they shot 48 percent in winning two of three regular-season games this year.

Still, the Knicks’ up-tempo game can do some damage if Camby, Patrick Ewing and Chris Dudley can get to the glass.

“They’re an old team,” Camby said of the Pacers. “We have quicker feet than those guys. In every position, we’re a little bit quicker. We definitely have to get out on the break and get easy buckets and get the momentum changed to our favor.”

That’s the plan, but the Pacers don’t seem overly concerned. Judging from their early comments, they are pleased that Oakley is gone, figuring they’ll be able to bully the lighter Camby.

“I know Camby has been coming into his own, rebounding and blocking shots, and Chris Dudley has been clogging up the middle,” Antonio Davis said. “But they’re not Charles Oakley.”

When informed of Davis’ assessment, Camby was unmoved. “We’ll see,” he said. “It’s a long series. They’ve got to beat us four times and I’m going to be there.”

Truth is, the Pacers can’t know what to expect from these Knicks. They are not the team that was beaten 94-71 at Market Square Arena May 2, much less the team that lost in the playoffs last year. This is a sleeker, faster, more explosive model, created during the offseason when the Knicks figured they were getting too old and stiff to get past the second round.

Not only is Oakley gone, but so is the reliance on Ewing as the major offensive threat. The Knicks want the floor to be open with no speed limits. The Indianapolis Speedway in Market Square Arena. But first the Knicks must rebound, which could be a liability with this uptempo approach. Thomas is expecting a war. So is Dudley.

“When the ball was in the air, Antonio Davis the last few years has gotten every crucial rebound,” Van Gundy was saying yesterday at Purchase. “I don’t care if we’re big and brawny or lean and athletic, we’ve got to get the ball.”

That means Van Gundy needs a big series from Camby and Thomas down low and Sprewell at the outlet; three new players who have helped create a new team and a new image, all built to get past these Pacers.